motivation.

A reason for acting or the inner drive that makes someone pursue a goal.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• intrinsic motivation
• motivation to learn

On the page

The interviews explored motivation to remain in the profession.

Usage notes

Primary category: psychology / human behavior. Forms: Countable or uncountable by context; countable singular motivation; plural motivations. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common.